By Stephen Radcliffe, Carly Thorpe, William Kay

Article 8 v Part 8: The Significance of Language

Introduction

It was recently established in Maelor Foods Limited v Rawlings Consulting (UK) Limited [2018] EWHC 1878 (QB) that the arbitration clause in a JCT Standard Building Contract with Approximate Quantities 2011 (the “JCT Contract“) can take precedence over a Part 8 application for declaratory relief.

This means that in such circumstances, section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996 can be relied upon to stay the Part 8 proceedings.